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The Best Colleges for Network Engineering?
viperstyx asks: "Ive come to that time in my life where I have to choose what colleges im going to apply to for my undergraduate degree. I'm very interested in Computer Science but I'm not sure if I want to major in Comp Sci, but I do have a high interest in networks. I hope to work on things like Internet2, or in a large business environment after college. I was hoping to find a college with a major, along the lines of Network Engineering, but I have yet to find one." What colleges have the best programs to prepare prospective networking engineers for the future?
You also forgot to add the part about the female to male ratio being 3:1 or so in your story... Just thought I'd be the first to correct your mistake. :)
Although i have not attended i think Colorado Technical in Colorado Springs is a very good school. They have an awesome course from what it looks like.
It's about your own networks. People from unknown schools get onto interesting projects becuas hey know who's running them.
Get networking... with humans.
All you need is experience, alot of online resources for OIS, but get your hands on experience with a 3550, 4500, 6500, 7200 (from cisco) get a CCNA... A Dergee in Net Eng is useless if youve never actually implimented a network or worked with a network. Book smarts does not cut it with network engineering.. you need practical experience with both physical (wiring) and software (ois or what have you)... Nick D
Home Sweet Home Linux
RIT? I like the EE program, and a lot of CS students I know like it here.
Study CS in undergrad. Wait until Graduate School to specialize.
Badass Resumes
...we're all about the Internet2. As far as major, I odn't know that any of our undergrad curricula cover that type of thing, but we have the School of Information, which is a graduate school with tons of IT-type programs and the like.
Hope you're in-state though, 'cuz Michigan is the most expensive public university in the nation. And for some reason we're proud of this. Sheesh.
El riesgo vive siempre!
Who are you? The new #2 Who is #1? You are #617565. I am not a number, I am a free man! Muhahaha.
I've heard Carnegie Mellon University is the shizzle. I applied and didn't get in, therefore they must be pretty damn good.
Right from the Internet2 website: list of lead Universities working on Internet2.
If your true to what you like to do, do it, even if the boat is already full. People that like IT for what it is will do better then most who are there to make a quick buck.
-Kilka
If we don't believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don't believe in it at all. -Chomsky
Nowadays it would be very much to your benefit to be a jack of both trades (programming and networking) and master of a few more. You may want to look into colleges that have good CS programs and then either tackle networking on the side (start w/ CCNA or something), or see if you can get a job working with the university's networking department. Best way to learn networking is hands-on anyways.
-- Stu
/. ID under 2,000. I feel old now.
Not that I know anything, but this applies to everything: experience is vital. Go out and do consulting work to get your hands wet. If you know absolutely nothing start off in tech support somewhere - you will learn very quickly. I don't know about what employers are looking for, but I believe that experience would be way more valuable than a bunch of theory that you may have learned from some junior college prof.
Those who can, do. Those who can't, go into business for themselves.
Not to troll, but is that really a college-level degree? Unless by "work on things" you mean "analyze and design your own version of," I think a trade-school level degree, or some sort of MIS, plus the appropriate certifications might be your thing.
However, by sheer virtue of the fact that you "made it" through a more in-depth degree such as CS or Computer Engineering, you'll open yourself up to wider options, and possibly a higher pay. These degrees mean that, in addition to the basic knowledge, you're capable of handing large, complicated projects (if you have a good Capstone program at the school you look at) and have good problem-solving skills, things that aren't, necessarily, taught at a trade-school or 2-year level institution.
Of course, I'm biased as I'm about 3 months from finishing my B.S. Comp. Engr, and 1 year, 3 months from finishing my M.S. Electrical Engr (Yay, 5-year program!).
Posted Anonymously to protect the names of the (not so) innocent.
I really don't feel you have to focus on exclusivity to Network Engineering. I feel that most schools with programs in Network Engineering are not the most recognizable. I suggest you focus on a CS degree or a computer engineering degree. If you perform well in either of these fields you should be able to land almost any job in the industry. Recruiters look at your college record and see what kind of person you are based on your grades, difficulty of classes, and experience gained. The actual information learned is rather insignificant to the kind of person you are.
I've heard that UoB, University of Bangalore, offers excellent training, and good job placement;)
They have the entire range of Cisco certification classes.
You also may want to consider something in telecommunications as that covers a lot of networking as well.
And then you can still apply for work outside of IT.
I suggest you go with the college/CompSci degree, then spend another 6 months to a year in a certification-type place getting things like A+, Network+, Cisco basic certs, and some linux/unix sysadmin basic certs (the latter cause most linux/unix sysadmins know networking a lot better than most MCSE types since they are network-centric OSs from the get-go). And depending on where you go to college, many colleges let you take tests for *life experience*, so if you got some network-related certs while in college, you might be able to have them credited and not spend as much time.
I think college, in fact, is overrated in a lot of ways, putting yourself 60K in debt is not worth it. I'd recommend a cheap state school if possible, or community college for the first two years of college. Keep in mind, a lot of people change their minds after two years in college, and decide they want to do something else (or may just not like the field).
Moreover, I think technology is becoming extremely competitive. Better to try a field like nursing or maybe look for something in biotech.
In any case, if you want to do something in technology, be prepared to study hard and keep learning, tech is one of those fields requiring constant reeducation to maintain an edge.
I would definetly suggest checking out US News. They have an awesome website, in regards to "rankings" of the U.S. top schools and such, and they have them separated by degree and "rankings". While this may not be THE DEFINITIVE answer, it is certainly a step in the right direction. . .
YOU'RE WINNER !
Another lame blog
The University of California Berkeley is an all around great school for computer and engineering related fields. Although, when I went there I didn't major in CS or EECS, many of my friends graduated from those programs, and then went onto jobs dealing with networking technologies.
I'm just about finished Communications Engineering at Carleton University. If it's really a professional engineering design degree that you're after, and not somethign with more of a technological slant, it's definitely the way to go. It was the first Comm Eng program in Canada (I'm in the third batch to graduate this year), and there's a strong batch of professors in the field. It also helps that Ottawa is 'Silicon Valley North'. Nortel headquarters is here, and various Alcatel and JDS plants, etc. Not to mention all the local start-ups.
We cover everything from distributed network programming, to coding techniques, to circuit design, to protocol implementation, to allocating resources for quality of service. It's great, once you get past all the math and science at the beginning. Introduction to Communications Software was my favourite course ever.
I'm not sure I quite understand the point of network eng. as a stand-alone major. Network Engineering, while high in demand, very important and very difficult, does not seem to be the type of job where an academic college degree would be best suited. The poster seems like he is looking for a school that will teach him how to set up and run major network infrastructure and I'm not sure college degree programs are going to be set up to specifically train that. You will get a lot of the required problem solving skills as a CS Major, but as for how to setup and configure Cisco routers, those skills would be better served via a technical school, trade school or apprentice type system. College is more apt to teach students how to come up with efficient networking algorithms and solutions rather than how to construct, deploy and maintain a network. EE Majors largely do not learn how to deploy and maintain electrical wiring in a building, those skills, while very difficult and important, are just not normally taught at college. College may still be the right choice, but think of college as a broad education on problem-solving and critical-thinking rather than a place to specifically teach skills. Skills are easy to acquire by those that have had rigorous training in critical-thinking. I'd focus on the CS Majors or ISE Majors. After a couple years, you will have the opportunity to jump into some really great research areas that fit your interests.
I do not agree with this, if you plan to keep moving up you will need a four year degree, and if it's in networking all the better. Schools I would look at are RIT (IT program) Fort Hayes State University in Nebraska (INT program) and the University of Wisconsin Stout Telecommunications Systems program.
I am currently in my last semester at UW-Stout in the Telecom Sys program, at least here I can vouch for getting hands on real world experiance on a variety of networking gear and protocols, a mix of old and new similar to what you might find at a business.
IMHO the best preparation available (in the context of an undergraduate degree) would simply be a solid program in Computer Science. There are lots of fundamentals to be learned... complexity theory, distributed systems, etc. Once you have a solid grounding in Computer Science you will still need to learn the hands-on material of network engineering ("What do I do with this Cisco thingy?") but you will be at a significant advantage. If you want to work on cutting-edge stuff an academic background is essential.
The way things are going, I will not endorse my profression "computer engineering" to my kids.
I will suggest to them that they find their true talents and follow that path. (As I think every parent should.)
The bottom line is that the best among us don't always do the best (by objective measurement). The cliche "nice guys finish last", ain't for nothing.
I am doing ok, in life, but sheesh... I lost my train of though.
This issue is a bit more complicated than you think.
This may come across as a conservative approach, but keep in mind that I am an academic and when it comes to education we are expected sometimes to think conservatively. Thus I say to you:
Building strong foundations on the conceptuals and the foundations of computing is extremely important. You need a good grounding in mathematics, logic, and systems. This is something that you'll get if you majored in CS or math. CS is obviously preferrable.
Once you have a good understanding of the underlying principles you'll be ready to embark on a more challenging adventure in exploring Networks and Computer Engineering. You may do so by pursuing a research MS degree or even going for the PhD if you are up for 4-5 years living below poverty :)
It is easier to do good work in CE coming from CS than the other way around. Here's an example, that deals with databases. Most CEs working on databases are trying to tweak SQL interpreters and compilers in order to get an extra 1-3% performance. This is great. But a CS researcher will be looking at new concepts of querying rather than overengineering an existing paradigm (relational databases have been around for over 30 years and are over-engineered by now).
If you are interested in doing good work in CE your BS will not be enough, unless you are one of these gifted people who can find a great job at a major research lab (e.g. TJ Watson) and learn the research ropes fast. For the rest of us, an MS or a PhD program is necessary and quite beneficial. That's why I suggest that you focus your undergraduate studies in getting the fundamentals right (through studying CS or Math). You'll have plenty of opportunity to focus on engineering or other interesting aspects as you consider graduate school eventually
Now as to where to go, it depends on your mobility and ability to secure funding. The top math and CS departments are at schools with rather expensive tuition. Yet, there are state schools with great programs that will enable you to apply to top graduate programs when the time comes.
I hope this helps a bit. If you need more info, feel free to write to me.
Disclosure: I am a CS professor (in comp bio, not networking), and my department (WUSTL) is well-known for networking-related research.
If you want to get into stuff like protocol design, routing architecture and algorithms, and the other "guts" of designing and building high-speed networks, consider a CS or Computer Engineering degree. Besides the obvious courses in networking per se, you will have the opportunity to study algorithms relevant to the area (e.g. minimum spanning tree, network flows, suffix trees and other fast string matching methods for routing tables); hardware design (for building gigabit-and-up routers and other cool network gear); and design of large software systems, including the principles behind distributed systems like the DNS and peer-to-peer networks.
Depending on where you go and what your interests are, you can also bone up on the underlying math (e.g. queueing theory for protocol design) and maybe even some physics/EE (signal propagation, etc).
Yes, you can probably work your way to a strong practical knowledge of how to build a network, and getting your hands dirty is essential to success. However, the point of a CS degree is (1) breadth in computing fundamentals, which I hope I've persuaded you are relevant to networking, and (2) quickly getting up to speed on how to *think* about networks, independent of any particular protocol or hardware standard.
Oh, and speaking of getting hands dirty... if you go to the right place, you might be able to get on board a networking-related research project!
I would have to agree with some of the other posts... Get an undergrad degree in CS or perhaps IT (I'd recommend CS) and then specialize in graduate school.
::thinking to self::...Maybe I should have gone to MIT...
Depending upon how good your existing skills in CS are (I'm talking about mostly programming and general computer knowledge), I can recommend NJIT as a recent (2 weeks ago) BS in CS graduate. If you happen to live somewhere near the NYC metro area, it's not a bad education if you go in with a good background and don't mind teaching yourself when you can't understand the profs (that happens at most tech schools from what I hear). I thought it was rather easy but then again I started really programming in 2nd grade - most of my classmates wouldn't have agreed with me on the ease of the program though.
Price is reasonable and if you have high enough GPA/SAT scores you could apply for the Albert Dorman Honors College - they paid for almost my entire undergraduate tuition, but I must warn you it is a lot of work.
One bad thing I must say though is the quality of campus life - it fucking sucks. ~85% men here and as for the 10-15% left of women... well, you get the idea. However we are about 10 miles due west of the financial district of NYC, about a 30 minute train ride right to Penn Station and there's *plenty* to do in the city, so it' really up to you.
# fuser -v
#
I recently went to an open house for a new school called Northface University. They have an extremely interesting bachelor of science degree in computer science where you will spend 28 weeks working on state of the art IT. The teachers include Terry Halpin and Joe Celko. The school is in its first year of existence. That actually means you would be working directly with the professors as they establish curriculum. The idea is to pack a full bachelors degree in a 28 month intense programming fest.
Here's the real question: do you want to be a scientist or an engineer, or do you want to put stuff together?
Because if you want to STUDY or MAKE things, go to a good CS school: MIT, U of I, Purdue, Carnegie Mellon, University of Chicago (shameless plug, plus U of C will teach you more than just computers). Those are just the top schools off the top of my head, and are necessarily the best schools. I'm sure your own local schools might be good enough. My advice is not to look for a "networking school" as that amount of specialization is not what you want from a university education. See below.
However, if you want to USE things, then get yourself to a trade school, community college, or hell, just teach yourself and get the certification. No need to waste all that money learning about theory, writing papers, etc., when you can just study how to build and maintain networks.
Of course, I'm not saying that this is somehow a 'lesser' pursuit; instead you'll learn more specific skills suited to where you want to work: networking.
--Stephen
Did you ever notice that *nix doesn't even cover Linux?
Might I suggest the University of Washington in Seattle? It has one of the finest Computer Science departments in the nation. If you don't want to go into something as scientific as Computer Science, there's always the Informatics program (one of the only programs of its type in the world) which looks at computers and information in the context of humanity, something that works well within the setting of network engineering.
I'm currently a student at Rutgers University College of Engineering majoring in Computer Engineering. Now while that's fine and dandy, I also am able to work at the school doing real networking work. I am able to work with equipment that most *professionals* have only seen pictures of, let alone worked on (Cisco 12000 series routers, for instance). My suggestion to you is find a good (big is nice too) school that you can get real experience at. The reason I say big is because schools typically don't have carrier, or even enterprise level networks unless they do a lot of research and move a lot of data. That's the sort of thing you want to get experience on, as it's easy to apply experience on big projects to smaller ones, but doing the reverse is much more difficult. Studying for the CCNA is beneficial, even if you don't choose to take the exam. I am fortunate enough in that I had a two-year CCNA program at my high school. It's probably why I got the job I got. I wouldn't stress yourself looking for a "Network Engineering" program. Get a degree in a (semi-)relevant field: CS, any kind of engineering, Math, Physics, you get the drift. They all will do.
"Nature doesn't care how smart you are. You can still be wrong." - Richard Feynman
If you still are interested, then get into Computer Science (or possibly CE). CS is not so much about programming, but rather is much more focused on a wide range of abstract computer-related topics. For example: data structures and algorithms, computer architecture, operating systems, and networking (all very important in network theory.)
If you just want to be a big IT network guy at some business, you'd be better served by getting a non-computer major (business would be great), a CS/CE minor, and a bunch of networking certifications. Your diversity will give you a huge advantage, and you'll be able to cross into another field if the computer thing doesn't pan out.
I think that the question is about someone who wants to work in the design and engineering of new protocols, not someone who wants to use off-the-shelf tools. If all the inquirer wants is to just be another network tech in a server room somewhere, then he doesn't need college. If he wants to design applications that use all the features of IP:v6, then he should get maybe a Master's. If he wants to design the heir to IP:v6, then he should study a lot of theory and go for a PhD.
The trouble with Slashdot is that sometimes there's a lack of awareness of the gap between the tool-users and the tool-makers - the former, probably due to something of an inferiority complex, are pretty unaware of the realities of the latter.
Firstly, congratulations on wanting to go with a real degree before jumping into the networking field. Its the way to go if you want to have any future beyond "button pushing lackey". Your entry level CCNA job has already been shipped to India, shoot higher.
There may not be a specific "Network Engineer" degree at all universities, what you want is to study Electical Engineering, add in some Mathematics (queue theory, statistics), and top it off with Physics (optics, particle physics). All of these elements are required to actually understand what is going on with networks. Specific topics to concentrate on include circuit design, transmission lines, antennas, material science, compiler design, signal processing, queue theory, and statistics, lots of statistics.
If you want to be the guy who actually writes new RFCs to be used by everybody else, gets hired by companies like Cisco to create new routers or protocols, and be the chief designer on world spanning networks, ignore the certificates for now. Concentrate on getting the background information necessary to understand all the aspects of network design, like speed of light limitations, electrical characteristics of transmission lines, radio circuits and complex mathematics. Picking up a cisco certificate will then take a week of your time when you are ready to join the workforce, and you'll know not just the HOW, but the WHY.
There are a ton of CCIEs on the market today, those without university degrees are flipping burgers or repairing PCs. The interesting work, such as creating optical switches or ultra efficient routers, can only be done by people with advanced degrees. The cert holders sit in the NOC at 3 AM, working their way through a never ending stream of trouble tickets, wishing they had a real degree to get a real job.
That said, from my experiences with US university grads, I'd recommend UC Berkeley, Purdue, CalTech, or UoWashington.
the AC
who just let his CCIE expire, because its worthless in todays job market
Hemos is like...sci-fi fans;he thinks technology is cool, but he hasn't bothered to understand the science it's based on
This is a key point that no one in the Linux/Unix community seems to understand.
What's more transparent, a series of easy to edit text files with names that correspond to the program they control, or storing all information for all programs in one giant binary file?
UNIX is something that you don't seem to understand.
Badass Resumes
College is where you learn to understand how to do things. A job is where you learn how to do things.
Use the college time to learn things you always wanted to know about, physics, electronics, math, history, art, welding, pottery, whatever. Make your degree broad based and in a subject you are curious about, don't make it a focus of a vision of some job you'll have. You want the broadest base of tools possible allowing for flexible career moves later.
A huge majority of people who are regurgitated by the institutional educational system have no real work experience until they graduate. They come out expecting that the time they 'served' will equal career skills. Hardly. As a matter of fact, if you bring the skills you used to get through school into a workplace expecting to rely on them in business you wind up with bad coping skills, lack of communication skills, fundamentally challenged in dealing with the real world. Don't worry, that's about 90% of the business workplace staff.
If you really want to stand out, realize that college is its own little world, use the courses to broaden yourself as a person and expect that your next step is to then learn how to actually work. Start by getting yourself part-time work in the field. It will give you a much better view into how to better make use of course selections and give you an excellent idea if you really do want to work in IT as a career at all.
The things I found that I missed out on by not going through a formal degree are things like finance courses, business law, things that would make starting a business a bit less painful. If you get out into the workplace and discover that you aren't one of the sheep, content to live a cubicle life, you will find that the only way out from working for The Man is to start your own business. These courses will help you there.
It's easy to get a degree and get a job to match what it says. It's much harder to find a job that turns out to be what you really want to be doing. Don't limit yourself with a degree or actually the perception that a degree will make your career.
One of the best things about going to a school like Harvard or Stanford is that many of your classmates are wealthy and connected. During your program at school you will have many opportunities to form networks with fellow students, their parents, and alumni who later in life will be able to get you a job.
I know I'm plugging my own university here, but A&M has a really great environment if you want to do networking. Also, the CPSC degree plan is pretty flexible.
:-). Also, note the NE program at TAMU: http://vnelab.cs.tamu.edu/network_engineering_vne. html
Check out the
VNE and this list
of schools that the NSA has designated as "CENTERS OF ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE IN INFORMATION ASSURANCE EDUCATION" which also largely have good networking programs. This list of course includes Texas A&M University
Don't become a regular here, you will become retarded. -- Yoda the Retard
THis brings back memories from a couple years ago when a Devry rep came to talk in my shigh school senior english class...the teacher had us prepared. We basically all collaborated to subtly mock him for half an hour. We were going for that nice method of hinting to the person that you're making fun of them, but never saying anything actually offensive, so they just get really uncomfortable.
I think it worked.
Then we put all made-up info on the forms he made us fill out!
Good times.
Take a look at:
"Concepts of Modern Mathematics"
by Ian Stewart
"Foundations and Fundamental Concepts of Mathematics"
by Howard Eves
"Calculus Made Easy"
by Silvanus P. Thompson
I hated math coming out of high school. But I got hoodwinked into calculus and eventually I got used to it. Don't let the math scare you away. College math is different from High School math. Take a class in precalculus at the community college during the summer.
What do you mean my sig is repetitive? What do you mean my sig is repetitive? What do you mean....
Ahhh... the optimistic utopia of fully automated systems. The day they can fully automate network design and troubleshooting is they day that Bill Gates takes over the Linux kernel from Linus.
While things get simpler and simpler for end users and administrators, the back-end protocols to run all this automated spiffiness don't get any easier. I work in Storage Area Network troubleshooting and I spend my days staring at protocol traces, scrutinizing poorly drawn network diagrams, and poring through dense standards documents. This isn't going to change any time soon. While the protocols I work on today (Fibre Channel and SCSI) may be gone in ten years, something no less complicated will take its place.
User administration will become easier and easier as time goes on, and those skills will become less valuable. Hard-core troubleshooting and design are skills that can only be had by "real" engineers, and will always be useful.
IT programming (programming done in IT departments) has always been a "dead" field, as the VAST majority of it requires nothing more than an associates degree. DB apps and churning out SQL all day doesn't require a 4yr college degree. This is the stuff that is being outsourced to India right now. (Along with low-end tech support, but that is almost beneath mention.) This has been the case for a couple of decades, and in fact, is what the majority of programmers do for a living. This stuff has NEVER required a college degree.
The real innovation, and fun, happens at the companies that make all those building blocks, and they aren't going to need an appreciably different mix of engineers in the future. The computer industry will always need program architects, protocol designers, testers, PHDs to design algorithms, etc. None of those people are in your list of "core stuff". While the skills behind each of those professions will change drastically in the next ten years, the professions themselves will still be needed. No, these people are not a huge population, but it is still plenty large enough to soak up the entire compentent output of every single US CS school for the forseeable future.
SirWired
I'm a CPE major at CPSLO. Basically the motto here is 'learn by doing.' So we get the theory and then actually do stuff with it. I think this is one of the reasons why US News says we have the No. 3 [engineering] program at a public school, behind only the U.S. Military Academy and the U.S. Naval Academy. Also, our CPE is second in the nation for undergraduate study. And hey, it's public so if you hail from CA you won't be 40,000 in debt before you get out....
Two years ago, I went back to school to complete an MBA. I found myself ranked at the top of the class, along with engineers, computer programmers, and scientists. Only one other person had a BA. Yet I managed to hold my own and graduate near the top of the class. I proved I could do calculus and compete with "math people".
And then I graduated. People now find it suspicious that I have an English degree and an MBA! They say, "You can't possibly be good at both financial and 'soft' business skills. Which is it?" It's amazing how people put Liberal Arts majors in boxes. I majored in Arts because I felt it was extremely important to have a well-rounded background before specializing. I do think Arts majors learn a breadth of skills and are more likely to challenge establishment thinking.
However, my husband chose to do an undergrad in Math, with a computer science minor and lots of Arts electives. He later completed an M.Math. He has a great job as a software architect, makes about 40% more than I do, and can still quote Shakespeare and Homer.
My recommendation? Do a general computer science or somewhat general engineering degree, and do a double-major/minor in Liberal Arts. Volunteer for some clubs and try to socialize with a wide variety of people. You'll still gain exposure to a broad range of ideas, but you'll have better job options.
That being said, I suppose I still earn more than the average university grad or masters grad. But my husband has a lot more jobs to choose from.
-- SYS 64738 --
If you want to be a network tech, which is not a bad thing. However this is not what an Engineer does. As an engineer you have to understand the theory behind the network and why it works. Then be able to make informed decisions about it.
Just keep that in mind many of my friends went into engineering thinking it was something it is not.
Steve
Computer Engineer
Not a very well known school, but it's a campus of both Indiana University and Purdue. I suggest checking out the Informatics major. IUPUI also has a part in Internet2. I'm not sure of the details, as my area is bioinformatics, but there's something under the library :o).
Otherwise, you may also be interested in Purdue's CPT program. They offer a Network Engineering Degree. Purdue is perhaps the best engineering/tech university in the midwest, maybe even east of the Mississippi. In fact, maybe even east of California. And unlike IU, their football team doesn't entirely suck.
Plus, Indianapolis has lots of things going for it for someone in the industry. Plenty of large companies that need tech workers (the headquarters of Lilly and Conseco and Thompson Consumer Electronics North America and Simon Property Group - the world's largest mall owner) as well as many regionally strong tech companies.
Yes, I'm a little biased, but for good reason.
CMU is a good school, but you have to be ready for...well, you may not expect everything there.
(Note that I picked up a bachelor's in CS there and liked it quite a bit.)
I found that the school tends to be a bit racially cliquish. There are a phenomenal number of students from wealthy families overseas that attend, and a (surprisingly, to me at least) number of recent immigrants. I never really ran into any bad spirits (with the possible exception of a Saudi student who seemed quite put-upon immediately after September 11th), but Indians tended to hang out with other Indians, Chinese with other Chinese, etc. It *is* a neat way to pick up other culture -- I'm not a huge fan of travel or picking up other cultures other than my monthly National Geographic, but I really enjoyed some of what I learned about folks there.
CMU has a few *extremely* highly-rated schools. For example, their computer science program and their drama programs are both extremely good. This may *sound* really nice. However, it also has drawbacks. When you are going to university with these people, they are really, really, really good. They not infrequently have done decent work in their major. You can't just decide to pick up a drama double major if you're a typical computer science major, because (a) you would probably never be accepted, and (b) if you did get in, you would be decidedly out of your depth unless you had serious prior experience. CMU is a pretty awful place to be if you don't know, for Pretty Darn Certain what you want to do. Changing majors is generally a pain in the ass. (Note that drama is a particularly nasty case -- there are a very few classes for out of majors that generally have a waiting list many times the size of the class). All this *does* mean that you can generally get a very good education in the field you choose, but it is difficult to seriously explore other things.
CMU is not what you would call a party school. It is next to U Pitt, and, in any event, you can find friends on any campus, but I'd call it socially toned down.
CMU (at least CS and ECE) has a decidedly non-Windows bias, which is quite refreshing if you like working on UNIX systems. This takes root in a number of issues (Microsoft hiring a number of professors away, political issues, etc).
CMU is notable for a lot of different research. I'd say that their computer vision stuff is extremely prominent, as is their robotics works. There are some good language people there. Speech synthesis and recognition is big. The philosophy department has a strong AI/symbolic logic slant, which can be very good if you're into that, and bad if you like classical philosophy. They have networking work, but I don't see the network folks being as prominent as at some other universities. There (at least a while ago) was a significant project working on ad-hoc wireless networking. This is a pretty incomplete list. If you take CS up at CMU, be *sure* to take Professor Steven Rudich's Great Ideas In Computer Science class. It is, without compare, the finest class I've ever taken. It gives your brain a *throrough* workout, is a huge amount of fun, and is inspiring as all hell. Prof. Rudich also gives great assignments -- basically, he gives all the information required to figure some past significant idea in computer science out, then gives you the problem as an assignment. It feels *great* when you do it. I wish to God that more profs gave assignments like this. I and other people have even gone back to sit in on lectures he's given for classes we've already taken.
CMU has awful parking. A car will cause you a good deal of grief. Even in university terms, CMU has bad parking.
CMU is in Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh's average age is extremely high (expecially given the number of universities in the thing). There are a *lot* of old people there. This means that the city shuts down quite early. 24 hour grocery stores and similar are not common. On the other hand, Pittsburgh also has phenomenal
May we never see th
It sounds like you have a strong interest in high performance networking from your mention of Internet2, so you best gain will probably be from hanging out with people who are working on these projects while in undergrad, if this is possible. This should serve you much better than CCNA-type certifications which aren't nearly as focused on the bleeding edge. The key here is that you have to seek out and attach yourself to projects beyond what is offered by the CS curriculum. Your academic study is the basic thing you have to do, the really interesting stuff is participating in research.
That said, here are a few institutions for you to think about:
Indiana University - Home of the Internet2 NOC and has a lot of interesting research opportunities coming out of the Abilene Observatory project. Definitely a leader on the network operations side of things, a strong CS program and a fantastic CIO.
University of Michigan - A strong CS curriculm and many interesting things going on on campus. Also very close to Internet2 (also HQ'ed in Ann Arbor), so there might be opportunities to intern on projects there during the summers and during the year. The networking coordinator for the ATLAS project works in the UM Physics Department.
Cal Tech - Not really a safety school, but an interesting place to go if you can get in. A lot of networking research is done within Physics and at CACR, most notably the development of FAST TCP stack. Recently won an Internet2 Speed Record. A physics professor here (also strong ties to CACR) is the networking coordinator for the CMS collaboration (a detector at CERN's Large Hadron Collider).
University of Illinois Chicago - The Electronics Visualization Lab is doing really interesting work in both high performance networking and applications that can eat a lot of bandwidth. The lab director is one of the principals of StarLight, a major peering point for high speed research and education networks. Probably the coolest reason to go to EVL - they worked on the Death Star in Star Wars.
This isn't an exhaustive list of good places to go for experience in networking, but it's a few that come to mind. There are lots of other great places that aren't mentioned that would be great, too.
I was hoping to find a college with a major, along the lines of Network Engineering, but I have yet to find one."
/. I'd guess you're a broadband thinker, and may not be happy in a vocational job all your life.
The reason is, most colleges are geared to train for higher-level jobs. When you say 'network engineering', you're thinking of how the job is now, with nuts and bolts and connections and packets. IOW, science, vs politics. But in the near future we'll be more and more abstracted from the hardware -- the difference between an 'object', and the 'symbol for that object'. Wouldn't be long before you're outclassed, and universities know this.
IOW, you think you want what I'd call 'vocational training', as opposed to university training. This may be where you're happiest, but given that you're on
Because university is a rare privilege in the U.S., I say treat it like buying a house, and get the biggest, best, and most you can possibly manage. You'd always have the option of being a network engineer if you want, but you'd also have much better doors to open with a graduate degree.
Campaign finance reform is national security.
ITT is an accredited college that gives Associates of Science degrees and even has Bachelor of Science degrees now. Having attended a traditional university before going to ITT I found their courses to be somewhat disorganized. If you attend class it is very difficult to fail, whether that's good or not you decide.
I found that their number of campuses was a bonus because almost everybody has heard of them or worked with somebody who attended. This gave me something in common with people interviewing me. Also I was able to work in the field while I attended school so ended up with a degree AND experience, NICE. email me if you have any more questions.
Cheap storage VM.